Sound Awake -  Following up two Grammy-nominated albums is not an easy task. But Christian modern rockers Skillet are facing the challenge without fear. Their new electrically-charged album, Awake, recently debuted at No.2 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the band’s highest-charting album to date. Building on their previous success, the hard-hitting rockers from Memphis felt they had to pull out all the stops in the studio.

“We went into recording the new record with very open minds, so we took a lot of ideas from our producer Howard Benson,” said lead guitarist Ben Kasica. “Howard really knew how to challenge us and push us to be our best in the studio.”

The band not only sounds their best on Awake, but they seem to have reached a new maturity level with their songwriting. They have a great formula for understanding what they—as artists—want, and what their fans want.

“The simplicity of things is what people really enjoy, and the band really tries to keep that in mind when writing,” Kasica said. “For my playing, I use more catchy riffs and hooks over the really technical things. That’s what I think sticks in everyone’s heads.”

Kasica’s chops are definitely on display throughout the new album, which is filled with his amazing lead work and some particularly tasty sweeps. “I always try to challenge myself with every record,” Kasica said. “I got to introduce some really cool things into my playing while making Awake.”

Trusting the ingenious team of top producer Howard Benson and recording master Chris Lord-Alge, Skillet was able to experiment in the studio. And for Kasica, that meant trying out different guitar tones. “We ended up using Marshall Amps and ’59 Gibson Les Paul Jrs,” Kasica said. “It’s a step away from what we were used to using, but I really like how big the tone turned out.” That tone, as a result, combines their crushing drive and melodic lines to make the album an experience that will certainly leave you begging for more. —Elliott Politte